Saturday, February 14, 2015

When
was the last time you heard a “sir” or a “m’am”?If you haven’t, you aren’t living in the
south.One of the most surprising
aspects of my life in the South is the degree of politeness I encounter, even
among college students who aren’t known for possessing that quality.In my present job in a private college, I can’t
count the number of times people have held an elevator door open for me or
personally shown me to a room I can’t find.All my NY City and Barcelona training begins to melt away.There I was the one who always found a seat
on a crowded subway.I was the one who
laughed at an American roommate in Barcelona who told me she couldn’t get off a
crowded bus.So here I am, in a sea of
politeness, not quite sure what its significance is beyond making day to day
reality just a tad more pleasant.

Of
course, not all is flowers and light.I’m
in a right to work state where highways rule and along with the Bhutanese
refugees, we’re the only ones who walk anywhere besides to take out a dog.Little by little, I will try to adapt and
find a way through it all to an understanding and acceptance of the idiosyncrasies
of life.And no matter how far I go, I
still find the people who are suffering.Instead of the refugees I worked with in Buffalo, here I teach a young
woman whose dreams and life were shattered when her husband fell into a coma
and she has to take care of him.It
makes me wonder if I would be capable of the same.So, like before, my heart is shattered at
what life can bring.

So
here’s a poem from my second chapbook, written after acupuncture treatments I
had for an injured knee.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

February 1st and I am in a new land, a new life. No more winter storms (can I admit I miss them a bit), just a forest of pine surrounding.
I was reminded by FB that I haven't posted on my page. Like a nagging parent, I am controlled by the media around me or is it that I just succumb to easily? I was doing research on Pinterest for a story I was writing. Next thing I knew, I had several people following me. What was I to do? Post some pictures of course. One more distraction, this one visual!
So to obey the media that is cracking down, here' s a poem I reworked. We are in Mercury retrograde so I can re-do, re-work, and re-write.

A Mother’s Tale

Show, don’t tell,
repeat the writer’s mantra.
Tell color, taste, smell the details
like the name of the ship,
General SD Surges,
leaving Bremen Germany